Don't listen to him/her. I've read PokeSpecial and the art is utterly atrocious, the storyline cliche, and overall it offers you nothing.

Now, The Electric Tale of Pikachu has brilliant art, a unique take on the Pokemon world, and characters that shine far more than you could imagine. I'd take that, but unfortunately it's rather hard to come by.

fire243

July 11th, 2009, 10:43 AM

Don't listen to him/her. I've read PokeSpecial and the art is utterly atrocious, the storyline cliche, and overall it offers you nothing.

Now, The Electric Tale of Pikachu has brilliant art, a unique take on the Pokemon world, and characters that shine far more than you could imagine. I'd take that, but unfortunately it's rather hard to come by.

That doesn't prove anything at all. As a person who like both comics, I would say whether you like one manga over another is simply due to your personal choice.

JX Valentine

July 11th, 2009, 11:33 AM

That doesn't prove anything at all. As a person who like both comics, I would say whether you like one manga over another is simply due to your personal choice.

Gonna have to agree here. But if it helps any, a few notes about both manga:

Electric Tale of Pikachu
- It gravitates more towards the anime, so when you read it, you're pretty much reading about Ash Ketchum, et al.
- For that reason, Electric Tale tends to be a bit more lighthearted. It takes on adult concepts now and then (like sexual innuendo), but overall, you don't have things like people or Pokémon dying, being banished from the realm, et cetera.
- The humor tends to be a bit more slapstick and absurd. For example, in one chapter, Ash is crying his heart out over accidentally losing Pikachu. Brock claims he's going to get dehydrated, so Misty uses Starmie to try to quench his thirst. Cue shot of Ash riding on top of a geyser.
- The artwork tends to be consistently more detailed and anime-like, with every character drawn in what can be described as "bishounen" or "bishoujo"-style.
- The overall storyline is actually a bit simpler. There are episodes that echo the anime, but ultimately, the characters are just on a Pokémon journey, not trying to save the world.
- It offers a bit of backstory and explanation to the Pokémon world that isn't really seen elsewhere, like how TMs work and how it's justified that a ten-year-old can just take a break from school to go on a journey.
- It's also finished, if you're looking for something that's quick to follow. Four volumes long, pretty much.

Pokémon Special
- The first noticeable thing about the comic is the artwork. Mato's art tends to be a bit simpler and more cartoonish compared to Toshihiro Ono's (the artist of Electric Tale), with everyone drawn pretty much in chibi-style. Eventually, Satoshi Yamamoto takes over, and the art becomes more detailed and a bit prettier. Characters actually look closer to their ages, trees aren't just blobs on the paper, et cetera.
- Additionally, the storyline is more solid and a lot darker. There's various arcs, but a lot of them tend to center around kids who start off on ordinary quests (or errands for a local professor) and end up involved in plots in which they're expected to save the world/stop an evil organization. Think of a lot of original trainer fanfics you might have read. If you like those, Special's a lot like that.
- To add to the note about the story being dark... it really is at times. People and Pokémon get limbs hacked off at points. Characters get psychologically tormented. There's kidnapping plots here and there. One character even gets lost in time in one arc, while half the cast gets turned into stone in another.
- Character development tends to be better. While Electric Tale offers some semblance of character background, Special makes parts of each character's history vital bits of the plot. Likewise, each character has a unique personality that evolves as time passes, and each character possesses unique skills and powers that come into play just as much as their skills with Pokémon do.
- It's also ongoing, which means if you like the story, you don't have to be disappointed by a lack of content to read. Additionally, you can also find it online at certain places, so if you can't buy all of the volumes, you could just get it for free.

So, yeah, in short, it depends on what you like. If you like a more lighthearted manga, go for Electric Tale. If you want more of a story and don't mind dark plots or chosen-one trainers, try Special.

Hope that helps in your decision a bit.

Redstar

July 11th, 2009, 01:16 PM

Oh, I like both very much. But it's always nice to take a jab at the Spec lovers who think it's anything you could ever want.

Mileyangel

July 11th, 2009, 01:42 PM

Uh-huh.

Anyway, neither is perfect, but my personal favorite is Pokemon special. I also own the first volume of the Electric Tail of Pikachu along with my four volumes of Pokespecial, and it's a very cute manga. However, if you're not a huge fan of the anime and want to try something different, I'd recommend Special.

Redstar

July 11th, 2009, 04:41 PM

Uh-huh.

Anyway, neither is perfect, but my personal favorite is Pokemon special. I also own the first volume of the Electric Tail of Pikachu along with my four volumes of Pokespecial, and it's a very cute manga. However, if you're not a huge fan of the anime and want to try something different, I'd recommend Special.
I don't know what everyone's problem is: Electric Tale has no similarity to the anime, save the inclusion of the Orange Islands. And that's hardly a bad thing.

JX Valentine

July 11th, 2009, 08:38 PM

I don't know what everyone's problem is: Electric Tale has no similarity to the anime,

Actually, there's a number of similarities, including the appearance of a lot of anime-only characters (Samurai, Mikey, et cetera) and some chapters that actually mirror events in the anime itself (like "The Human Race and the Pokémon Race" and "To Evolve or Not to Evolve That Is the Question"). Granted, even then, the manga deviates a bit from the anime storyline to be its own unique entity, but... yeah. It's supposed to be to the anime what Special is to the games. On a level. I guess.

I do agree that it's not a bad thing as well. In fact, to be honest, I prefer Electric Tale over Special (but that's mostly because of... *motions to avatar*), and I found it a bit more fun to read than actually sitting down and watching the anime itself. Electric Tale is funnier and, well, a bit deeper than at least the anime.

Redstar

July 11th, 2009, 08:42 PM

Actually, there's a number of similarities, including the appearance of a lot of anime-only characters (Samurai, Mikey, et cetera) and some chapters that actually mirror events in the anime itself (like "The Human Race and the Pokémon Race" and "To Evolve or Not to Evolve That Is the Question"). Granted, even then, the manga deviates a bit from the anime storyline to be its own unique entity, but... yeah. It's supposed to be to the anime what Special is to the games. On a level. I guess.

I do agree that it's not a bad thing as well. In fact, to be honest, I prefer Electric Tale over Special (but that's mostly because of... *motions to avatar*), and I found it a bit more fun to read than actually sitting down and watching the anime itself. Electric Tale is funnier and, well, a bit deeper than at least the anime.
Well, okay. Yeah. I realized as I was just finished typing there were a lot more similarities, but I was done and didn't want to start over. But in a way, I am right. Ono was given vague scripts and had to interpret them his own way, so many of the stories turned out very differently than their anime counterparts.

Both have something for anyone to enjoy, but I find it unfair when many people adamantly declare Special to be the superior. They have many different, great qualities.

JX Valentine

July 11th, 2009, 09:19 PM

Well, okay. Yeah. I realized as I was just finished typing there were a lot more similarities, but I was done and didn't want to start over. But in a way, I am right. Ono was given vague scripts and had to interpret them his own way, so many of the stories turned out very differently than their anime counterparts.

Well, to be more accurate, we're both right here because the manga is and isn't like the anime. It is because of certain similarities, but it isn't because it also deviates from the storyline frequently. So, there's recognizable parts and characters, but there's elements that are unique to the series.

Both have something for anyone to enjoy, but I find it unfair when many people adamantly declare Special to be the superior. They have many different, great qualities.

I do agree here, and really, it's true for pretty much any Pokémon manga. People tend to see Special as "THE manga" due to accessibility (as in, it's the manga that's easiest to find online and off), the fact that it's ongoing, and the endorsement by Satoshi Tajiri (although this is just as likely as being something he said to get people to buy it as it is an actual thumbs up). In reality, you're right. There's a ton of different manga series out there besides even the ones discussed here, each with their own good points and weak points. (For example, Golden Boys. Awesome story, but the art really sucks. Also, it ends abruptly with no resolution whatsoever.) It really all depends on what the reader's tastes are, as fire said.

But yeah, I kinda wish people would branch out a bit more too and taste the other manga series besides Special instead of writing everything else off as inferior (not saying that all Special fans do this, but there are several who don't even know there's other stuff out there), but hey. What can you do, you know?

However, either way, I'd say Special and Electric Tale are both awesome series that are equally worth checking out.

[/rambling post]

Clover Cat

July 11th, 2009, 10:21 PM

Erm, I can't really compare the two, since I only know a bit of EToP from what I read online. And that was only a few pages. But I DO heavily recommend Pokespecial. It's very realistic, and Masumoto, creator of Pokemon, has said that it is the work that most resembles the world he was trying to convey. Not in quotes because I can't remember if that's exactly what he said. ^^;

Oh, and while it is darker than that fuzzy stuff that is the anime, they don't really show much in terms of torture, you know. Sure, they infer that people get tortured (By criminal organizations, which is very realistic in itself), but I don't think they ever showed them in the act of being tortured. There is death, though, but it's not like it's conveyed frequently--I honestly think it's only happened once, maybe twice in the manga. And people also get injured, but again, it's realistic. Face it, if you're in a Pokemon battle, you're not going to get away unscathed, like the anime tends to imply. Still, it has wonderful plots and storyline (you'll get what I mean if you read it) so yes, Pokespe is very much recommended from me. ^^ Yeah, this turned into a rant, didn't it?

fire243

July 12th, 2009, 12:51 AM

What I like about the electric tale is due to the fact that Ash actually starts to have some sort of character development and name recognition at the end of the series. When I saw the manga, no one seems to know who Ash is, even after trying to save the world again and again in those movies.

RubyJB88

July 12th, 2009, 06:49 AM

It's very realistic, and Masumoto, creator of Pokemon, has said that it is the work that most resembles the world he was trying to convey.

Satoshi Tajiri is the creator of the Pokemon franchise and this is what he said, not Masumoto.

Clover Cat

July 13th, 2009, 12:42 AM

Satoshi Tajiri is the creator of the Pokemon franchise and this is what he said, not Masumoto.

Damn. I keep getting those two confused. >.> Thanks for correcting me, Ruby! ^^ And I found the quote here (http://www.mangafox.com/manga/pok_mon_adventures/), for anyone who cares.

Redstar

July 13th, 2009, 08:54 PM

I can't find anything on a "Masumoto". Where the hell did you get that from?

FreakyLocz14

July 14th, 2009, 05:49 AM

If anybody's interested in what I ended up doing I bought a copy of 1st volume of Electric Tale (I know I spelt it as "Tail" in the thread title my mistake) since it's hard to come by.
I checked out "Pokemon Adventures (which is what Special is called in English)" The Best of Red" from my local library

Clover Cat

July 15th, 2009, 08:35 PM

I can't find anything on a "Masumoto". Where the hell did you get that from?
...
I'm honestly not sure. Wow, what a way for me to prove my noObiness...*Headdesk*

And that's cool, Loc. ^^

Mika555

July 17th, 2009, 04:01 PM

Well, to be more accurate, we're both right here because the manga is and isn't like the anime. It is because of certain similarities, but it isn't because it also deviates from the storyline frequently. So, there's recognizable parts and characters, but there's elements that are unique to the series.

I do agree here, and really, it's true for pretty much any Pokémon manga. People tend to see Special as "THE manga" due to accessibility (as in, it's the manga that's easiest to find online and off), the fact that it's ongoing, and the endorsement by Satoshi Tajiri (although this is just as likely as being something he said to get people to buy it as it is an actual thumbs up). In reality, you're right. There's a ton of different manga series out there besides even the ones discussed here, each with their own good points and weak points. (For example, Golden Boys. Awesome story, but the art really sucks. Also, it ends abruptly with no resolution whatsoever.) It really all depends on what the reader's tastes are, as fire said.

But yeah, I kinda wish people would branch out a bit more too and taste the other manga series besides Special instead of writing everything else off as inferior (not saying that all Special fans do this, but there are several who don't even know there's other stuff out there), but hey. What can you do, you know?

However, either way, I'd say Special and Electric Tale are both awesome series that are equally worth checking out.

[/rambling post]
You know people very seldom post other Pokemon manga series on the internet beside Pokemon Special and if they do they never get update. For example I was read a Pokemon manga called Kaitou Pokemon 7 also known as Phamtom Thief Pokemon 7. I thought that the story was interesting as well and I heard that it has been translated in English in Singapore and it still has not be updated since October 2008.

JX Valentine

July 17th, 2009, 07:09 PM

You know people very seldom post other Pokemon manga series on the internet beside Pokemon Special and if they do they never get update.

This I know, but it's still rather a shame because some of the Pokémon manga series out there (like Electric Tale) are actually finished, not simply abandoned the way Golden Boys or Kaitou Pokémon 7 (which, yeah, I thought was pretty awesome too) had been. That and some of those finished series are actually pretty good. (Electric Tale and Zenshou, for a couple. I do believe Magical Pokémon Journey is another one, although do people tend to post about it more? I can never tell.)

In other words, yeah, I know people post about the long, ongoing Special more than anything else and that the fans tend to have the bad luck of scanning, translating, and posting volumes of a story that won't actually be finished, but there's a few that do exist out there and that are finished that just aren't as accessible. *shrug*

Mika555

July 18th, 2009, 05:32 AM

Even Pokemon manga series that are finished hardly get post on the internet. Unless the author comes in contact have a some kind of illness or they passaway before the story is finish there is really no excuse why they should not finish it. There is also Pocket Monsters which have two sequels that are Pocket Monsters RS and Pocket Monters DP and I do not even see that post on the internet. I have not read this manga myself though I just read some information about it on bulbapedia. I heard that it is the most popular manga series in Japan, but did not become very popular outside of Japan because according to bulbapedia the character and Pokemon was unrecognizable and the artstyle was so different though, what exactly do they mean about that?

fire243

July 18th, 2009, 06:40 PM

Even Pokemon manga series that are finished hardly get post on the internet. Unless the author comes in contact have a some kind of illness or they passaway before the story is finish there is really no excuse why they should not finish it. There is also Pocket Monsters which have two sequels that are Pocket Monsters RS and Pocket Monters DP and I do not even see that post on the internet. I have not read this manga myself though I just read some information about it on bulbapedia. I heard that it is the most popular manga series in Japan, but did not become very popular outside of Japan because according to bulbapedia the character and Pokemon was unrecognizable and the artstyle was so different though, what exactly do they mean about that?

I dunno. It's quite popular in Taiwan and Singapore in the past. The style of drawing is not alien to the people living here.

I wonder how popular the Pokespe is when compared to Pocket Monster. If it reach the popularity level of Pocket Monster, we might even see a cameo of Red and co.

Mika555

July 18th, 2009, 07:21 PM

I dunno. It's quite popular in Taiwan and Singapore in the past. The style of drawing is not alien to the people living here.

I wonder how popular the Pokespe is when compared to Pocket Monster. If it reach the popularity level of Pocket Monster, we might even see a cameo of Red and co.

It was on bulbapedia meaning that the person who could have wrote it must have put his or her own point of view about the drawing style.

fire243

July 18th, 2009, 08:29 PM

It was on bulbapedia meaning that the person who could have wrote it must have put his or her own point of view about the drawing style.

Well for one, it's done in a very slapstick style.

In regards to availability of the comic, you can still find the English version in Singapore as well. Chuang Yi didn't only translate the Pokemon adventure series you know.

Mika555

July 19th, 2009, 01:40 PM

I can't find anything on a "Masumoto". Where the hell did you get that from?
I think that she meant to say either Satoshi Yamamoto the current artist of Pokemon Special and must have gotten Satoshi Yamamoto confused with Satoshi Taijri.

Well for one, it's done in a very slapstick style.

In regards to availability of the comic, you can still find the English version in Singapore as well. Chuang Yi didn't only translate the Pokemon adventure series you know.
Yes I know that Chuang Yi translate other Pokemon manga beside Pokemon Special, but I do not live in Singapore. I do buy some other Pokemon manga that I find interesting in store if they care them or they have not been released yet in the country where I live at but I really do not like the idea of ordering it from overseas. I have not purchase that Electric Tales of Pikachu because they are out of stock in store of where I live though I could buy them from a use book dealer but they do not seem to be in that good of a shape as I seen and I really do not want to read a book with pages are torn and missing.